So perhaps people’s desire for intoxication —> cultivation of grain to brew beer —> led to grain based hierarchical societies based on taxation *and* further dominance hierarchy formation / competitive and aggressive behaviours arising from spatially/temporally stable and predictable food sources…?
Though that wouldn’t explain the sweet potato gardening seen in various indigenous tribes..
What about other mind-altering substances (ie other drugs) — why was alcohol preferred? Surely there were some psychoactive plants that would have been loved and preferred for cultivation…but maybe they were too hard to cultivate at that time?
And if grain based societies led to class systems then perhaps we can say sugar / tea / coffee / cocoa (also “drugs” in a way — and certainly opium!) led to on imperialism later down the track. Since no one really *needs* any of these crops to survive in the wild.
What about eastern cultures — in India alcohol is a bit more taboo, not sure if it was a thing in ancient India (haven’t looked into it)?
What about hunter gatherer societies with access to berries - I have come across the odd indigenous berry alcohol recipe! Perhaps this wasn’t scalable like grain?
You might find it interesting to learn that when British went to New Zealand, they “paid” the Māori (indigenous population) with alcohol in exchange for fish, flax, potatoes, vegetables, shelter etc. And so inebriation was a tool of colonisation as recently as early to mid 1800s! You can read about this in “Financial Colonisation of Aotearoa” book.
Could it be that the illnesses of indigenous people we attribute to contact with Europeans (aka germ theory) were actually due to alcoholism and consumption of other civilised garbage food - in addition to toxins (medicines), as well as loss of land, genocide of indigenous, and all the physical diseases that a state of constant stress, subjugation, land theft entail ?
This would be the greatest irony of civilisation that it arose thanks to a bunch of alcoholics. Hunter gatherer societies look far more principled, moral, gentle and sane by contrast. So civilised people are the real barbarians and the so-called “barbarians” are the real civilised.
“The first collection of laws, the Code of Hammurabi of Babylon, decreed a daily beer ration in direct proportion to social status: beer consumption went hand-in-hand with hierarchy.” —> so the more drunk you are, the more you are running the show?
Funny how “beer” sounds similar to “Bayer”…a multinational corporation and to “bear” (as we must all suffer (bear) this absurd state of affairs) and to “bear” as in “birth”…am I laying *bare* some word spells here?!
The internet says “Old English beran, of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit bharati, Greek pherein, and Latin ferre .” Hang on a minute!!! It comes from Sanskrit “bharati”?!?! Bharat is another name for India! Maybe India was based on beer after all… Bharat means “one who carries light” as the bhr bit means “to bear (to carry)”.
The article ends with the section on globalising beer/alcoholism. My initial reaction was: I suspect the role of alcohol itself as a tool of control is declining but there is another tool that’s very powerful: light. Blue light from our screens is amazing at turning us into docile, obedient creatures. So maybe there is something in the “bharat”/beer connection as “bharat” means “one who bears light”…just the wrong kind.
A lot to respond to here and I'm tired, but I'll say something quick to keep the convo moving. James C. Scott points out that early statecraft is always associated with grain agriculture. It is totally wrong to think that all agriculture leads straight to statecraft... this idea has been promoted by many well-intentioned people, and some with dubious motives. Many societies dabbled in agriculture (or horticulture if you prefer) without adverse effects... but it does seem that there is a strong correlation between states and grain agriculture.
Read Stephen Harrod Buhner on the history of beer. But for fuck's sake, man, how can you be writing about beer or whatever when the heaviest thing of all is happening in the US -- a massive country-wide outbreak of peaceful pro-Palestinian encampments protesting the murder of innocents in Gaza met with the fascist response from university administrations and the police?? These students include many Jewish youth side by side with Muslims, risking everything for a change of heart, mobilizing a new generation
As for myself, I don't often write on current events because there's already too much noise about whatever is in corporate media. And what is going on in the now is here because a system and a long installed mindset are causing these things to come to a head. It doesn't help that much to focus on the symptoms when the illness is killing us, which is barely discussed.
Yeah, Nevermore explicitly DOESN'T follow the news cycle... sometimes we write about current events, but more often than not, we don't.
If it was someone else, Michael's comment might really have pissed me off, but I understand the sentiment of urgency on the Palestine issue... I've been kinda waiting for the right moment because I think a schism is bound to open up within Jewish identitarianism... and I don't want to drive the neutrals away (Jews who are neither Zionists nor anti-Zionists).
Very interesting hypothesis!!!
Quick random disjointed thoughts:
So perhaps people’s desire for intoxication —> cultivation of grain to brew beer —> led to grain based hierarchical societies based on taxation *and* further dominance hierarchy formation / competitive and aggressive behaviours arising from spatially/temporally stable and predictable food sources…?
Though that wouldn’t explain the sweet potato gardening seen in various indigenous tribes..
What about other mind-altering substances (ie other drugs) — why was alcohol preferred? Surely there were some psychoactive plants that would have been loved and preferred for cultivation…but maybe they were too hard to cultivate at that time?
And if grain based societies led to class systems then perhaps we can say sugar / tea / coffee / cocoa (also “drugs” in a way — and certainly opium!) led to on imperialism later down the track. Since no one really *needs* any of these crops to survive in the wild.
What about eastern cultures — in India alcohol is a bit more taboo, not sure if it was a thing in ancient India (haven’t looked into it)?
What about hunter gatherer societies with access to berries - I have come across the odd indigenous berry alcohol recipe! Perhaps this wasn’t scalable like grain?
You might find it interesting to learn that when British went to New Zealand, they “paid” the Māori (indigenous population) with alcohol in exchange for fish, flax, potatoes, vegetables, shelter etc. And so inebriation was a tool of colonisation as recently as early to mid 1800s! You can read about this in “Financial Colonisation of Aotearoa” book.
Could it be that the illnesses of indigenous people we attribute to contact with Europeans (aka germ theory) were actually due to alcoholism and consumption of other civilised garbage food - in addition to toxins (medicines), as well as loss of land, genocide of indigenous, and all the physical diseases that a state of constant stress, subjugation, land theft entail ?
This would be the greatest irony of civilisation that it arose thanks to a bunch of alcoholics. Hunter gatherer societies look far more principled, moral, gentle and sane by contrast. So civilised people are the real barbarians and the so-called “barbarians” are the real civilised.
“The first collection of laws, the Code of Hammurabi of Babylon, decreed a daily beer ration in direct proportion to social status: beer consumption went hand-in-hand with hierarchy.” —> so the more drunk you are, the more you are running the show?
Funny how “beer” sounds similar to “Bayer”…a multinational corporation and to “bear” (as we must all suffer (bear) this absurd state of affairs) and to “bear” as in “birth”…am I laying *bare* some word spells here?!
The internet says “Old English beran, of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit bharati, Greek pherein, and Latin ferre .” Hang on a minute!!! It comes from Sanskrit “bharati”?!?! Bharat is another name for India! Maybe India was based on beer after all… Bharat means “one who carries light” as the bhr bit means “to bear (to carry)”.
The article ends with the section on globalising beer/alcoholism. My initial reaction was: I suspect the role of alcohol itself as a tool of control is declining but there is another tool that’s very powerful: light. Blue light from our screens is amazing at turning us into docile, obedient creatures. So maybe there is something in the “bharat”/beer connection as “bharat” means “one who bears light”…just the wrong kind.
A lot to respond to here and I'm tired, but I'll say something quick to keep the convo moving. James C. Scott points out that early statecraft is always associated with grain agriculture. It is totally wrong to think that all agriculture leads straight to statecraft... this idea has been promoted by many well-intentioned people, and some with dubious motives. Many societies dabbled in agriculture (or horticulture if you prefer) without adverse effects... but it does seem that there is a strong correlation between states and grain agriculture.
And look forward to your thoughts on the etymology of the word beer that j mused on in the comment above!
I couldn’t get these two lines out of my head (“Give is this day out daily beer / And forgive us our gins…”) so I turned it into a poem:
Our Lager which art in taverns
Hallowed be champagne
Thy pubdom come
Thy cocktail done
In mirth as it is in leaven
Give us this day our daily beer
And forgive us our gins
As we forgive those who drink as saints must
And lead us not into intoxication
But deliver us from dishevel
For wine is the inn’s rum
The hour of the sorry
Whatever will sever. The men
Oh awesome thanks! I’ll have to get my paws on this book. Thanks for putting the zine link in your article too, very helpful!
Also what was the video you posted at start of the article?? Says “Video unavailable “
Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcLasNk4i-c
I'll fix the post.
What a fascinating history! Thanks for sharing that, Crow, I learned so much!
This article reads like tongue in cheek but it’s the real deal.
Beers to Palestine!
Didn't Mr. Spock once observe 'it's not logical to serve poison in a bar' - ??
The oldest brewery in North America is in PA. Yuengling. Just remembering to spell it is a challenge.
Read Stephen Harrod Buhner on the history of beer. But for fuck's sake, man, how can you be writing about beer or whatever when the heaviest thing of all is happening in the US -- a massive country-wide outbreak of peaceful pro-Palestinian encampments protesting the murder of innocents in Gaza met with the fascist response from university administrations and the police?? These students include many Jewish youth side by side with Muslims, risking everything for a change of heart, mobilizing a new generation
I'm one person, man. I don't think anyone can accuse me of not pulling my weight.
If you want to publish something about the campus occupations, I'd be happy to publish.
I've got one thing ready to go, actually.
As for myself, I don't often write on current events because there's already too much noise about whatever is in corporate media. And what is going on in the now is here because a system and a long installed mindset are causing these things to come to a head. It doesn't help that much to focus on the symptoms when the illness is killing us, which is barely discussed.
Yeah, Nevermore explicitly DOESN'T follow the news cycle... sometimes we write about current events, but more often than not, we don't.
If it was someone else, Michael's comment might really have pissed me off, but I understand the sentiment of urgency on the Palestine issue... I've been kinda waiting for the right moment because I think a schism is bound to open up within Jewish identitarianism... and I don't want to drive the neutrals away (Jews who are neither Zionists nor anti-Zionists).